Food Panda delivery riders numbering 126 in Eastern Visayas successfully won recognition as regular employees following a National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) decision in Tacloban City on April 21. Advocates for workers’ rights called the ruling historic, saying it secures job protection for gig workers.
Food Panda Riders Region 8 filed their complaint with the NLRC in August 2025 after the company deemed them freelancers and not regular employees. The union said they are not truly “independent contractors,” because if they were, they should be free to work whenever they wished.
Contrary to that condition, the company subjects them to strict schedules and monitors their performance. In fact, they are suspended whenever they are forced to cancel an order for a customer they cannot contact, and in worse cases are even dismissed.
While labeled “freelancers,” the riders shoulder costs for motorcycle maintenance, gasoline, load credits, uniforms, and delivery bags costing ₱2,000 each. They receive no compensation or benefits despite the risks of traveling the streets all day. A union member was struck by a vehicle in 2025, and has not received any compensation from Food Panda to this day.
The union also complained about unexplained cuts to their pay. Food Panda reduced their base rate without notice from ₱55 per 5-kilometer delivery to ₱25, and cut the ₱15 fee for each additional kilometer to ₱10. Earning ₱1,000 used to take six to eight hours, now it takes up to 12 hours work. Fuel crises further pulled down their daily earnings to ₱300–₱500.
For now, the NLRC decided only on recognizing the employer-employee relationship between Food Panda Riders Region 8 and the company. The commission is still set to rule on the issues of pay cuts and arbitrary suspensions and dismissals. Nevertheless, the union is in a stronger position to assert its rights. “Only workers’ collective struggle can break the chains of oppression,” union chair Normito Ragasa said.
The Center for Trade Union and Human Rights (CTUHR) welcomed the NLRC’s ruling for the riders. CTUHR said Food Panda must immediately comply not only in Eastern Visayas but across the country, since many online platforms refuse to recognize their riders as employees to avoid providing adequate wages, benefits, job security, and other worker rights under the law.
“This is a very important and arguably historic decision for labor rights. Food Panda must comply and nationalize this ruling. Other platform companies must also follow,” CTUHR said. The group added that these companies, which earned large profits in recent years, have been finding ways to keep workers from getting their share of those returns.
Food Panda is an international online food delivery platform based in Singapore operating in 400 cities across Asia. It earned €725–€775 million in 2024, or ₱48 billion (exchange rate €1=₱61.9 that year). It is owned by Germany based company Delivery Hero.
—report by Larab, revolutionary mass organ in Eastern Visayas
